Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#PuertoRico, May 15, 2023 – About 901 pounds of cocaine, with a street value of US$10.2 million, have been seized off the coast of San Juan Puerto Rico by the Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier and Caribbean Corridor Strike Force crew recently.  The seizure followed the interdiction of a smuggling vessel in the Caribbean Sea.

Three men from the Dominican Republic were held in connection with the bust and are set to face US Federal prosecution in the District Court of Puerto Rico. The unidentified men are facing charges of conspiracy to “possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance Aboard a Vessel Subject to the Jurisdiction of the United States.”

The US Coast Guard said the vessel that was carrying the contraband was spotted by officials at the Sector San Juan, during a patrol and they took action.

“Coast Guard watch standers at Sector San Juan diverted the cutter Joseph Napier that arrived on scene in pursuit and stopped the 30-foot blue and white go-fast vessel, apprehended three men and recovered 12 bales of suspected contraband that tested positive for cocaine.”

Lieutenant DeVonte Weems, Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier’s commanding officer, expressed that he is proud of the crew “for their tactical proficiency and resiliency in stopping this drug-smuggling vessel from entering Puerto Rico.”